On the home front

Advertisement

Where there's a fair, there's politicians.That was the case Saturday in Hutchinson, where members of the Kansas congressional delegation gathered to talk to farmers, according to the [Wichita Eagle:][1]"Sens. Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, Rep. Jerry Moran, Lt. Gov. John Moore and U.S. agricultural trade negotiator Allen Johnson took turns addressing the Kansas Farm Bureau's annual breakfast gathering. "Roberts told the audience it is unlikely that Congress will pass an agriculture appropriations bill, highway bill or energy bill during this session. "But he said there has been progress getting help for Kansas farmers who lost some of this year's wheat crop to sprout damage and in getting Japan's borders reopened to Kansas beef. "Moran said the real challenge is to provide jobs in rural America that will attract young people to return to the family farm or rural communities. "'The average age of the Kansas farmer is 58 and a half,' Moran said. 'We need jobs for younger people.'"Kansas Komedian?[The Charlotte Observer][2] reports that Roberts was mentioned in Washingtonian magazine's list of the "Best and Worst of Congress:""The ever-quotable Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings , D-S.C., who's retiring from the upper chamber, was runner-up for 'Funniest' senator. The Charleston wit got most of the votes from Democratic staffers, the magazine said, but lost out overall to that Kansas Komedy King, Republican Sen. Pat Roberts. He's chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose closed-door meetings must be a barrel of laughs."Tiahart's return; Moran's hiding?[The Eagle's Phillip Brownlee][3] reports that Rep. Todd Tiahrt returned to Capitol Hill last week for the first time since son Luke's July suicide."Fellow members of Congress, staff members and ushers embraced him and expressed their sorrow and support, the newspaper (The Hill) reported. "'It was the gutsiest thing I have seen in my entire career in Congress,' said Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind. 'I admire him greatly for coming back and giving all of us the opportunity to express our prayers.'"Brownlee also talked to Jerry Moran's office about speculation that his is in the doghouse of House Speaker Denny Hastert over Moran's decision last year to vote against the Medicare bill."I asked Moran during his visit whether his vote put him on the outs with his party. He said it did, but said there would be other close votes in which House leaders would need his support, so they wouldn't stay mad at him for long. "Moran's spokesman said Friday that 'people have moved on,' and that 'there is no doghouse.'"An endorsementRichard Clarke is endorsing Roberts' plan to revamp the nation's intelligence services.Yes, that Richard Clarke, the former "terrorism czar" who made waves earlier this year by criticizing the Bush Administration in a book.[He writes:][4]"Roberts, who has chaired successive investigations into the agency's failures, says he wants to stop having 'Oh my God' hearings and start fixing the problem. When he proposed a restructuring building on the Sept. 11 commission recommendations, he was roundly criticized by the CIA's defenders and by those who felt they should have been consulted first. "His critics need to get beyond their knee-jerk reactions based on turf and funding. Instead, they should sit down with Roberts and work out something, or get out of the way. Whether it's called the Roberts Plan or something else, intelligence reform and reorganization is finally coming."Other links:Pat Roberts links[N. Korea Says Explosion Was a Demolition][5]Dennis Moore-Kris Kobach links[Candidates hold event in Holcom Park][6]Jim Ryun-Nancy Boyda links[Soldier insurance at issue in 2nd District][7]How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation [here.][8] [1]: http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/business/industries/agriculture/9641555.htm [2]: http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/9649399.htm [3]: http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/news/editorial/9640181.htm [4]: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/9631809.htm [5]: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-blast13sep13,1,1759467.story?coll=la-home-world [6]: http://www.ljworld.com/section/citynews/story/181300 [7]: http://www.ljworld.com/section/citynews/story/181044 [8]: http://ljworld.com/extra/where_to_write.html#fed